First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic held a bilateral meeting with European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, shortly before the start of the Western Balkans Summit, on 12 July in Trieste.

Opinions on the dynamic of Serbia's negotiating process, the situation and cooperation in the region were exchanged, especially within the so-called Berlin Process, as well as in the context of the financial support of the European Union to Serbia.

Minister Dacic expressed the hope that the results of this year's Summit would contribute to greater visibility of the region and give a new impetus to the enlargement process, in particular to the negotiation process of the candidates for membership, depending on individual merits of each candidate, with the expected technical and financial support of the European Union to the whole region, so that it be further stabilized, connected, modernized and brought closer to the European Union.

Both sides emphasized the importance of continuing the reform process in Serbia, to which the newly formed Government was fully committed.